Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1887-05-19
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In an editorial entitled Independents
and Independence" the New York Times
pays the following tribute TO men who
place patriotism above party; In other
words the independent uses any party
with which he acts az means to an end.
When it ceases to be SO, he feels under no
obligation to continue TO act with il.
II any other party appears to offer q
more efeotual means Of reaching his end,
lie acts with that. One very important
distinction between him and the ordinary
partisan rests on this fact The ordinary
partisan has come to think that his party
ought to have not only the offices whose
incumbents may rightfully control the
action of the Government, suoh "a those
of the legislative and the high branches
of the executive departments, but all the
Offices. He thinks the minor ones ought
TO be given to active party men to reward
and encourage political activity. The
independent is apt to think differently.
He does not believe in hiring men or In
paying them directly or indirectly to vote
with q party or 10 work for'it. He wants
his party. 10 be voluntary organization
of those who see the same ends In govern
ment, and he wants to zee the minor
employments Of the Government service
performed by those who will perform
them best.
If the partisans could be brought to
take this view Of the service there would
be very much less narrow partisanship
than there is now, because a change in
parties would not involve the direct
personal interests of 40 many voters. The
accumulated force of the interests of
hundreds Of thousands of men, which,
according TO the ordinary partisan view,
depend on the success of one party and
the defeat of another, 10 at the bottom of
great part Of the intense partisan
prejudice which even men like MIR.
Carlisle feel in spite of their better i'm
pulses. II these were shut out men
would choose their party at each election
mainly with reference 10 their opinion
AZ to which party would accomplish the
purposes they wished to accomplish.
That opinion might be correct or mistaken,
wise or foolish, but it would be generally
sincere, and il would tend to be Just. 1t
would almost certainly, in the long run,
be disinterested, so far as the vulgar and
mean interests now involved are con.
cerned. Undoubtedly at present there 10
strong tendency toward this independ-
ence, and it springs from the steady in
crease in the number Of men in both
parties who care nothing or care very
little for the distribution of the minor
places. And natural consequence of
The increasing strength of this class is a
demand for the abolition by law of the
distribution of the minor offices as
political patronage. Much has been
gained in this direction, and much more
will be gained during the next ten years.
The American Nation is getting too big
to be turned one way or another by the
influence of the place holders or the place
hunters. There are still many of them,
but relatively they are constantly dimin-
ishing, and will continue 70 diminish
more and more. The party that depends
upon them is sure to fail. Victory for
any party lies more and more in the
hands of those who mean to vote their
convictions and mean to make it legally
impossible for any party to sustain itself
by political patronage.